My Fabri-Tac Experience

Recently I have discovered several clothing items that need mending. The problem with mending things in this house is that we don't have a sewing machine, so it has to be done by hand or with the steam-a-seam stuff unless it can wait until we visit Wayne's parents in Sturgeon so I can use his mom's machine.  Well, I didn't want to sew by hand or wait. And I have an item that can't be ironed, so I need a machine for it.  

I wanted to try the Mighty Mend-It that Billy Mays peddles on TV.  But I didn't want to pay $19.99 for it, and I didn't want bottles of the stuff collecting dust in my house if it didn't work.  I found some reviews online about it, some good, some bad, and one mentioning that you can get the same stuff at JoAnn Fabrics or Michael's, but it is called Fabri-Tac.  Off to JoAnn's I went.

I found the Fabri-Tac pretty easily.  I also found eleventy-billion other options for fabric adhering stuff.  I opted for the Fabri-Tac because I found a trial sized bottle.  Remember, I don't want a bunch of it hanging around if it doesn't work.

I first tried this stuff on an old pair of socks that had holes in the heels. Mending socks this way should be a breeze, I thought.  I just hate to throw something away if it can be fixed, even socks. The socks were knee-length cotton socks, Hanes I think.  I cut a rectangular piece out of one of the socks to use as a patch on the other.  I started to put glue on the patch, and noticed that it is difficult to get an even line of glue because it it rather thick.  Not so good when it dries fairly quickly.  So I decided to put some on a small area, stick it on the hole, then add some more to another area, etc.  This seemed to work better.  Success!  Or so I thought...

The instructions recommend waiting 24-48 hours before trying to wear an item that has been Fabri-Tac'd.  So I waited 24 hours.  I grabbed my newly-repaired sock and tugged on the patch. And when I say tugged, I mean tugged.  Lightly. The patch came right off.  Well this sucks, I thought.  But I was not deterred. Wayne had a pair of jeans that needed the pocket fixed.  The inside of the pocket, just the thin cotton part.  Surely Fabri-Tac could hold together a seam between two pieces of thin cotton.  So I tried again.  I had to work in small areas again, and I let it dry for 24 hours.  After 24 hours I tugged the seam of the pocket and...it easily came apart. This is when I began thinking that I was glad I only paid $3 for the trial size tube.

I decided to give it one more try.  On the sleeve of Riddick's winter coat is a velcro piece that is used to keep the bottom of the sleeve tight.  The velcro had been stitched on, but one side is about to fall off.  I tried the Fabri-Tac to glue it back until I could stitch it up, again gluing in small areas.  I waited another 24 hours.  What a complete waste.  The velcro piece came right off the sleeve.  This stuff couldn't hold two pieces of paper together.

So what is the lesson here?  Fabri-Tac is a waste of money.  I won't bother trying the Mighty Mend-It, even if you can repair and reuse a parachute.  I'll just save up my money and buy a sewing machine, and continue to use other people's machines until that day comes. Hopefully I can find something crafty to do with the rest of the bottle so it is not a complete waste.